


Hail Storm

by Sorshania



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28383471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorshania/pseuds/Sorshania
Summary: Hail storms can hit hard, fast and leave a lot of damage.When Hawke decided to follow Alistair to Weisshaupt after the events of Adamant, she had no idea the scars she still carry would impact her travelling companion.
Relationships: Alistair & Female Hawke (Dragon Age)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Hail Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rubberbisquit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubberbisquit/gifts).



> Written for the Dragon Age Gift Exchange on Tumblr :)

The log collapsed in the fire, sending a slew of flying embers upward, illuminating the inner walls of the cavern where they had decided to set up camp. Marian sighed and wrapped the sleep wool tighter around her shoulders. 

“I think it’s going to snow tonight.” her companion said as he joined her. “ You can smell it in the air.” He ruffled a hand through his hair before digging through the bag holding the supplies they gathered from the last village they passed through. She had to admit the villagers had been quite generous, giving away food and supplies they could ill afford to give. She guessed the fact her companion was a Grey Warden helped. She doubted her title as Champion would be as effective, especially so far East from Kirkwall.

They’ve been travelling straight from the Western Approach, after the Inquisitor closed a part of the Breach at Adamant, companions more out of necessity than friendship. Still, Varric trusted the man. And, she had to admit it was way better than being stuck in the Vicomte’s office, in Kirkwall, with Aveline trying her damned best to bury her under paperwork. “For her own good.” she would claim.

“Is there something on my face?” the man smiled at her, yet still reached up to run his fingertips across his cheek. 

Marian blinked and shook her head. “I was… reminiscing…” she said after a moment. 

“Ah… Yes... Nothing like the Anderfelds to bring forth memories of demons, blood magic and the near end of the world.” the warrior smiled, half deprecatingly, before taking a deep breath. “You can smell it in the air, actually.”

She smiled back, only a little. She cannot help it. She felt drawn to the sudden bashful attempt at humor at their situation. “You forgot demonic possessions and corruption of the Order.” she teased back quickly. 

Too quickly.

She wished she could bite her tongue. And take the words back. Maybe disappear under the ground. That would work too.

Too late.

The man’s face darkened quicker than a storm on the Storm Coast. No small feat considering the weather on the Coast.

“Alistair, I-” 

“Don’t. I mean. It’s not as if you were lying, right?” Alistair stood up and handed her the supplies bag. “I need to check on the horses.”

He left before she could say anything.

Marian stared at the empty space for a long time, biting her lip, the supplies bag forgotten at her feet. Why did she have to ruin everything she came in contact with?

*****

They continued the long trek in silence. Well, not exactly in silence. Alistair has been the perfect guide. Always making sure she was following okay, taking the safest road to Weisshaupt, as safe as a road could be in the treacherous environment that the Anderfeld were. Still, she never saw the shy, the bashfulness she witnessed when they made camp inside the caverns. Marian sometimes wondered if he regretted the fact she was the one to survive, with Strout choosing to stay behind, fighting the spider-shaped demon so she and the Inquisitor could escape.

Alistair had been on the parapets during that battle, trying to save as many of his fellow Wardens as he could. Or so Varric told her. Afterward. But before they had to deal with the aftermath. She had to hand it to the Inquisitor there. They handled the situation perfectly. More than she could ever dream of, if she had been in their shoes. And she had been, so…

Marian sighed, watching the back of her companion a few steps ahead of her. Their horses had been left inside the cavern where they made camp. Alistair didn’t seem to worry they could be stolen. They had been forced to hunt when their supplies had started to run low, and it was easier when you were trudging in the snow on two legs instead of four. Or so she thought. After a day trying to dig her way out of a snow bank with only two miserable rabbits to show for, she was seriously considering fasting. Until they reached Weisshaupt at least. Which should be soon, based on what Alistair said.

She looked up to find that he had stopped and was watching the sky anxiously.

“We should head back. A storm is coming.”

“What?” Marian also looked up at the sky and swallowed. It was significantly darker than she thought.

“We’ll be fine if we head back now.” Alistair assured her, starting heading back toward the camp.

She followed him, carefully setting down her feet, not wanting to risk twisting her ankle, on top of everything. Still, she kept an eye out, just in case another rabbit or bird wandered by. A sudden movement in the top of the trees caused her to jerk in surprise. And to lose her balance. One moment, she was looking up in search of the bird, the next, she was head over heels into a snowbank. Again.

“Hawke! You okay?”

She heard Alistair rushing toward her as she rolled on her back, trying to catch her breath. 

“Hawke? Hawke!”

“... I’m fine…”

Marian sighed and sat up, shaking the snow from her hair and clothes. Before yelling at the top of her lungs, a healthy mix of profanities in English, Tevene and Qunlat. (Thank you Fenris for the lessons!) She was tired, hungry, worried and on top of that, she was wet. Marian flopped on her back, panting. “That felt good.” and, raising a hand, she growled “Not a word, Therein.”

“I would not dare to.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Come on. I’ll help you up.” he said. She had up again, glaring sullenly at him before grabbing his hand. As he said, a storm was coming and there was no time to waste on a temper tantrum. 

She tried to stand up and would have fell if Alistair hadn’t grabbed her just in time. She winced and looked at her foot. Great. 

“Here. I’ll carry you.” 

Before she could react, Alistair knelt down so she could climb on his back. 

“W-what are you doing?”

“What is it looking like? I need to keep my balance and we need to hurry. Come on! You can keep a hand on the rabbits if you want.”

Marian swallowed, took a deep breath before climbing on the man’s back and wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist. She had to admit, that wasn’t really when she had fantasies of riding a Warden.

Alistair grunted and hoisted her so he could distribute her weight better and slowly, but surely, started trekking back toward the cavern. They travelled for a long moment in silence as the snow fell harder and harder.

Finally, they were nearing the cavern. And not a moment too soon! The snow was making it difficult to see a foot in front of them. Still, for the first time in a long time, Marian felt at peace. She sighed and rested her forehead against the side of his neck.

“You okay? We’re nearly there.”

“Yeah… Hey Alistair?”

“Hmm…?”

“I wanted to say… I mean..”

“Please don’t say you’ve fallen in love with me! Too many women have fallen in love with me. Men too, if you’d believe that.”

“Stop it.” she swatted him playfully on the chest. She couldn’t help it, something in him reminded her of Carver. Before Ostagar. “I wanted to apologize. About… “ she sighed.

“About..? Adamant? Leaving Stroud in the Fade to face off some gigantic nightmarish spider?”

“Well… yeah but… also what I said… about the Wardens being possessed. That was unfair of me.”

“Huh? Why do you apologize? It’s not as if you were wrong.”

“No… but I know what it feels like.. to feel like when you’re lost and like there is no other way..”

“... You know you won’t be getting any extra from tonight’s dinner, right?”

“Will you be serious?! I’m trying to apologize here!”

“Maybe you should get more practice first.”

“Jerk…” Marian pouted, yet she still felt a lot lighter than before. At least for now, she would try to hold to this little piece of peace. Until she had to face demons in battle. Again.

She smiled and pressed her face against Alistair’s shoulder again.

“What the… are you * **sniffing** * me?!”

“Hehehehehe.”

A little moment of peace. Amidst the crazy world.

The End


End file.
